Brine evaporates in pools at the lithium extraction plant facilities of the SQM Lithium company near Peine, Chile, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. In the "lithium triangle” - a region spanning Argentina, Chile and Bolivia - native communities sit upon a treasure trove of the stuff: an estimated trillion dollars in lithium. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
SANTIAGO: For a global lithium industry still reeling from gluts along the battery supply chain, the greater long-term risk is producing too little of the metal rather than too much, according to the world’s No. 2 producer, Chile.
More threatening than oversupply in the coming years is the risk of a renewed shortage, which would send prices soaring and make alternative battery technologies more viable, the South American nation’s finance minister said.
